SHINE BY

LAUREN MYRACLE

PUBLISHED IN 2011 The novel follows the narrator’s journey

to find out who attacked her gay friend Patrick and left him tied to a gas pump with the gas nozzle stuffed in his mouth.

You may be thinking this is not made for a high school classroom.

But this is the stuff of rural American, where most of us teach.

Poverty, drug addiction, and clannishness are recurring themes in the text and often in our towns.

THE THEME OF GAY BASHING PARALLELS THE MATTHEW SHEPARD STORY

The horrific events that took place shortly after midnight on October 7, 1998. Two men, Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson, lead him to a remote area east of Laramie where they demonstrated unimaginable acts of hate. Matthew was tied to a split-rail fence where he was beaten and left to die in the cold of the night. Almost 18 hours later, he was found by a cyclist who initially mistook him for a scarecrow.

Matthew died on October 12 at 12:53 am at a hospital in Fort Collins, Colorado.

THE BOOK TRAILER DOES A GOOD JOB OF INTRODUCING THE STORY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5gGOqO-xDg

Cat, the female protagonist, is a reader. To Kill an Mockingbird is her favorite book.

There is an underlying story of forgiveness in the novel.

The text does a beautiful job illustrating strong female friendships.

The sister-brother relationship is also healed in this novel.

THE AUTHOR ON THE CRITICISMS SHE RECEIVES: "MY VERY FAVORITE WAS FROM A WEB SITE CALLED VIRTUE ALERT, WHICH SENT OUT AN E-MAIL BLAST SAYING, ‘SATAN IS ON THE RAMPAGE, AND HISNAME IS LAUREN MYRACLE!”

Realted links:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lauren-myracle/lauren-myracle-national-book-awards_b_1019972.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GOJ7yGd8UQ&feature=related